Editorial: City must embrace bus study findings

It's a sad fact of life: People who don't use public transportation often take it for granted or don't understand its profound importance on the lives of others.

That includes seniors who couldn't get around otherwise; those with disabilities that make it hard, if not impossible, for them to drive; people working low-paying jobs who simply can't afford a car, gas and insurance.

The list goes on.

Public transportation is critically important, but it's limited in sprawling places like Dutchess County, and it can be expensive to operate for any level of government, including financially strapped cities like Poughkeepsie.

Amid this backdrop, there is plenty to like about a recently completed study that concludes the City of Poughkeepsie could save approximately $500,000 if it allows its bus operation to be folded into the broader county service.

City officials, who have been dealt severe budget blows of late, should eagerly embrace this concept - though they have every good reason, and a solemn obligation, to ensure much-needed service in the city isn't lost in the process. If the city felt the county's service would have to be augmented, Poughkeepsie could enter into a contract with Dutchess for those additions. Poughkeepsie officials may find that to keep service as they would like, the cost savings would be less, but it still could add up to about $250,000 annually, according to county projections. That would mean it's still worth doing.

The Poughkeepsie-Dutchess County Transportation Council's study was conducted with assistance of Wendel Cos., an Amherst-based consulting firm. It found that Dutchess could expand service in the city without adding cost to the county.

The study says, "There are clear redundancies between the two systems; in a number of cases, the two systems serve similar destinations, often traveling on the same road and at the same times."

The city would have to transfer capital equipment to the county at no cost, and the projection includes the county making full use of the city's share of federal transit funding.

County Executive Marc Molinaro notes that "economies of scale" would reduce the cost to provide bus service overall.

The study's calculation of the cost savings is based on the county retaining 50 percent of the city's current ridership; by industry standards, that is a conservative figure; frankly, people don't care what emblem is on a bus, as long as it is there when they need one. Thus, the ridership number is likely to be much higher, bringing more money into the system through user fees and strengthening bus service operations.

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik is embracing the study's recommendations, but some members of the city Common Council are more resistant to change. They shouldn't be.

A public hearing would have to be held and a detailed map finalized before the changes could take place. The city would want to ensure people wouldn't be asked to walk much farther to get to a bus stop, and public transportation can be supplemented other ways, such as through the "Dial-A-Ride" system.

The city must look for such efficiencies. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is on record as saying the city is facing severe fiscal stress. Moody's Investors Service, in fact, has downgraded the city's credit rating, and the city has struggled to figure out how to provide other basic services, such as trash pickup.

The city can't afford to ignore or gloss over these problems. An integrated county-city bus system can work. Government leaders just need to find the political will to make it so.

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Editorial: City must embrace bus study findings

It's a sad fact of life: People who don't use public transportation often take it for granted or don't understand its profound importance on the lives of others.

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